More Than Bread

Send me a Text Message!The name Jabez in Hebrew, literally means "pain" or even worse, "bringer of pain." Can you imagine being given that name? Every time someone called his name, it was a reminder of pain. A reminder that his life was a disappointment or a hardship to someone else. Some of you know what that's like, maybe it's not in your name, but it was what you were called...it's how someone spoke to you, about you. It was how you began to think about yourself. But at some point Jabez decided that his past would no longer rob his future.So he prayed this prayer of breakthrough, "O Lord would you bless me and expand my boundaries. Please be with me in all that I do and keep me from being a pain to others." And God granted his request. It's one of my favorite prayers!

Send me a Text Message!This prayer is not only a favorite prayer, one of my core prayers, it's prayed by my biblical mentor, Moses. "God I want to be your friend." What would happen, how would your life change, if you prayed that prayer and God answered it? 

Send me a Text Message!This five episode series will give me a bit of a break before we start the next MTB series on the Old Testament book of Joshua. We'll go chapter by chapter, story by story to see what "undaunted faith" looks like! But for now, we are looking at some of my favorite prayers in scripture.  It's actually a reposting from a longer series that I did a few years ago. The connection between the Spirit of God and the Word of God and the prayers of God's people is profound. In fact, my favorite metaphor for this three-way connection is breathing deeply.  The Spirit of God is the breath of God. So we breathe in the Word; and we breathe out prayer. Soak your soul in the Word and then lift up your heart to God in prayer, all shaped by the Spirit. This might be the most important rhythm of life. Prayer gets all the press when it comes to God at work, but it always begins with listening. This episode brings a focus to part of prayer that begins in listening... God give us ears to hear!

Send me a Text Message!No teaching of Jesus was any more outlandish and theologically incorrect (in Jesus day) than the teaching that God is our Father. In Luke 11, when Jesus was asked by his disciples to teach them to pray, He gave them a model, an outline of sorts, but even more importantly he gave them a new truth about God.God is your Father and that's why prayer matters!

Send me a Text Message!One last look at this mountain top encounter that leads to deep valley impact. So the crowd watches in awe and then we have that church fight and then Jesus heals a young boy brought by his father. His father brought him to Jesus.  Why do people come?  Because they have a need. Who are the looking for? Jesus. Why are they looking for Jesus?  Because nothing else worked. He came with a need, A parent who found the child of his heart beaten up and locked down by some force beyond his control. He had tried everything else and nothing worked, but  then he heard about Jesus, and even though he's a sensible man, he's a needy man. And God's his last hope.But when he came looking, Jesus wasn't there. It would be good for us to realize what a disappointment it can be when people come looking for Jesus but only find us. Jesus wasn't there, so he went to Jesus' friends, but they couldn't help. You know why?  Because something was missing. What's missing in the valley? Jesus.What's missing in your valley?

Send me a Text Message!You have a purpose, a calling, a mission. God created you for a purpose and we see it here in this story of a mountain top experience that has a limited duration and ends with Jesus leading the way back into the valley.  Why?  Because we live out our purpose in the valley. Remember: On the Mountain-Top we get marked.  In the valley we leave a mark. I often say that our mission is to love people all the way to Jesus. Our purpose is to be living proof of a loving God.And if you have a God-given purpose, a mission, a calling, then listen to me. Prayer matters!

Send me a Text Message!It wasn't necessarily my plan. I don't plan ahead that well. But this episode and the last one on Colossians, really go hand in hand. So let me ask you, "Have you lost your wonder of Jesus? Has He just become ho-hum, just Jesus?" If so, I hope that the last episode and this one reawaken your heart to the wonder of Jesus and I hope that you begin or continue to pray that simple prayer..."Jesus would you please amaze me?"

Send me a Text Message!In this episode I'm asking a question that I sensed Jesus asking me as I pondered Paul's words in Colossians 1. The question was, "Dan, have you lost the wonder?" How about you? Have you lost your wonder of Jesus? Maybe you grew up withJesus. Do you know what I mean? We've gone to church since we were little. Sunday School, Christmas programs, confirmation, baptism. We did the youth group thing; heard the stories, never saw the miracles, but heard the stories; went thru the whole WWJD phase. We've grown up with Jesus. Have you lost your wonder?Out of all the issues that might worry us, what if the most critical issue facing Christians today is that we are no longer amazed by Christ? Jesus has become familiar. The holy has become ho-hum. The majestic has become mundane. We've lost our wonder. It's just Jesus. So I'm giving us a simple prayer in this episode, "Jesus would you amaze me?" Let me encourage you to pray that prayer this week!

Send me a Text Message!Some of my very best, in fact I think I could say that many of my best mountain-top experiences have involved prayer. Prayer matters. In this episode and the next one or two, we are looking at a moment in Jesus' life called "The Transfiguration." Sounds like a sci-fi movie, right? It's a mountain-top experience that Jesus shared with Peter, James and John. And it's a reminder that prayer matters, if we want a mountain-top experience.

Send me a Text Message!In Mark 11, we hear Jesus say, (or maybe Jesus yell) "My house shall be called a House of Prayer." He could have also said, "My people will be called a people of prayer." Is worship important? Yes, but he didn't say my house will be a house of music. Is preaching and teaching important?  Yes, but he didn't say my house will be called a house of teaching. My house will be called a house of prayer.In Hebrews 4:16, the Bible says, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Not, let us come to the sermon, so that we can find teaching in our time of need. We have made the sermon the centerpiece of our gatherings, it is not.God is looking for a house of prayer, filled with people and prayer and when He finds it...amazing stuff will happen!

Send me a Text Message!Over the years, millions and millions of people have gone on a pilgrimage to Israel. A pilgrimage is just a journey to a sacred place.  Before Lynn and I were given the opportunity to go, (we actually have gone twice) I used to joke that I was more  interested in being a resident where God is, than in being a tourist where God used to be. But to drive through the hills of Bethlehem and wonder which one was the site where shepherds saw angels and found out about Jesus' birth; to sit by a pool where Jesus touched and healed a lame man; to touch a rock and wonder if it was the rock that held a cross that held Jesus; I found that going on a pilgrimage to a sacred place can be a profound experience.Do you have any sacred places? And what does that have to do with prayer? We start to dig into that in this episode!

Send me a Text Message!I kind of hope that you will be tempted to respond to the question that titles this episode with a quick and resounding no. Absolutely not. We cannot do anything greater than what Jesus did. And if that's how you responded, that will make John 14:10-12 even more fun. Because Jesus said otherwise. Now there are some restrictions that Jesus gave, believing in Him and prayer to Him. But... well listen to the episode and let me know what you think.Can we do anything greater than what Jesus did?

Send me a Text Message!Paul says in Ephesians 2:10, that you are God's masterpiece, created anew in Christ to do the good works He's prepared in advance for you to do. God is all-in on you. You are what God does and no matter where you find yourself at this moment, I can tell you without a doubt in my heart, "God's not done doing what God does and you are what God does!

Send me a Text Message!In the last few episodes we've looked at Ephesians 6, which gives great detail for at least one reason why prayer matters. It matters in the battle between darkness and light, the spiritual battle. For this episode, we're going backwards in Ephesians to Ephesians 3, which contains my favorite prayer in the whole bible. It is my core prayer. If there is any prayer that has shaped my life, it's this one. So rather than a scripture passage that tells us why prayer matters, we're going to look at a prayer that matters, really matters. It might even help you dream a little.

Send me a Text Message!Really what Paul is saying in Ephesians 6:10-20 is "I don't want you to quit.  No matter what happens, don't quit. Never give up." Stand up against the darkness.  Not just in the moment, for a moment, do it for a lifetime. Really Paul is challenging us to finish well. It's never too late to finish well and it's never too early to start. Bobby Clinton defines finishing well as coming to the end of my life; being more in love with Jesus than I was in the beginning; having a sense of the unique contribution that God has desired to work through me, and not flaming out through moral sin.None of that happens without perseverance. Perseverance is hope in action.  Don't give up. Always pray. 

Send me a Text Message!The Bible is clear, God is looking for people to empower, people whom He can use. no matter what kind of battles you find yourself in, no matter what kind of slippery slopes you find yourself walking upon on your life-journey, nobody, no situation, no circumstances, no past, can ultimately keep you from living the destiny that God has planned for you. But that will only happen, if I will commit my heart fully to Him. If we will commit our hearts fully to Him, we will stand in the battle and pray like it matters..So in this episode as we look again at Paul's description of how to find victory in the battle, I want to give us 5 commitments we need to make in order to stand strong regardless of what comes our way. We'll use the specific parts of armor that Paul describes to understand the commitments. And the bottom line is that when we aim for these commitments, our prayer lives will really matter.

Send me a Text Message!In this episode we will look at Ephesians 6 and Luke 18. There is an insightful connection between Jesus' story of a desperate widow and Paul's challenge to prayer in our spiritual battle. This isn't just a teaching about prayer in general. It's spiritual battle prayer. Jesus is telling us, "This is a prayer you should pray. All the time. Don't give up praying for justice over our adversary. God give us justice over our adversary." We are in a battle against the enemy of our souls. He's brought so much destruction. And God says, "Cry out for justice over your adversary and I will quickly answer.Prayer is a battle, but we have Jesus on our side! 

Send me a Text Message!For the last while, every Monday, the episode I drop is my message from this last weekend. This weekend, we started a new series, on the book of Colossians entitled "More." The tagline is "There is more to life than I can see, and Jesus is more than enough." I have to be honest, I'm really looking forward to this series. "More" has been at the heart of my prayers for years. God we need more of you. It was a good day at Calvary today, as we talked about the unseen realities that we so often miss. I'm glad that you are joining us!

Send me a Text Message!Paul's challenge to Timothy about prayer is the same challenge, with different words, as his challenge to the church in Colossae. "Be devoted to prayer." Being devoted to prayer doesn't mean that prayer is the only thing that you ever do. Just like being devoted to a job, or a cause or a spouse doesn't mean that is the only thing you will ever do. But if I am devoted, there isn't much in my life that my devotion won't touch. Right? If I am devoted to my wife, it will cause me to give myself to her in many different ways. It will shape my decisions, shape my day. She will come to mind often. But it doesn't mean I am with her 24/7, that wouldn't be good for her! Being devoted to prayer doesn't mean that all we do is pray, but it does mean our passion for prayer will shape our day, our decisions, and our relationships. There will be a practice of prayer that looks like devotion. That practice won't be the same for each of us and it won't be the same in every season of our life, but it will be noticeably different from not being devoted to prayer. Are you devoted to prayer?

Send me a Text Message!In this episode we are going to look at one of my favorite visions from the book of Revelation. It's a vision of the bowls of heaven being filled with our prayers and then emptied out before God. It's a vision that shows us how much prayer matters to God, as it describes a silence in heaven, the hush of heaven as our prayer are heard. Prayer matters. Prayer matters more than we think. Last week we had a week of 24/7 prayer. 300+ people prayed for about 1200 hours. In fact 80+ of our Myanmar family prayed for close to 500 hours! Kids fasted and prayed for us. You talk about the bowls of heaven being filled up.  During the week I had some opportunities to see God answer prayers in pretty incredible ways, so incredible that it makes me want to do it again soon. But even more shaping for me during that time was just this occasional sense that God was there. Listening. With a smile on his face or a tear in his eye. Those times gripped my heart. Prayer matters to God. It should probably matter more to us.

Send me a Text Message!I'm just going to close the Overflow series with some generosity stories, a few of my favorites. I hope that they inspire you to put God to the generosity test. See if he will actually make all grace abound to you so that you can abound in every good work. I really do think that He is eager to help us become living proof of a loving God! Enjoy some generosity stories!

Send me a Text Message!This is a hard one. Matthew 18:23-35 is a hard story, but it contains a liberating truth that our hearts need to hear. Jesus says it's our choice. When someone offends, hurts, or betrays us, will we build a prison of bitterness or live in God's overflow of grace?It's our choice...

Send me a Text Message!This is the last message in our Life Refreshed, summer in the Psalms series. It was given for a weekend of celebration. But at it's heart it is an invitation to join the story of God, a God whose greatness goes beyond imagination and whose greatness is matched in abundance by His goodness. And how do we join the story of God? Well that's why you need to listen. :)

Send me a Text Message! Here is a principle I've repeated more than once in this series. "God's uncontainable blessings come from God's unmistakable presence." But let me add to that with this truth. "His presence comes in community." Now I'm not saying that He's never with you when you are alone. But there is a certainty and power to His presence when even just two or three gather with one heart focused on Jesus.  Why is that important for a discussion on generosity? Well first of all don't miss the practical truth flowing from that statement. Here it is. "We can't live in the overflow alone!"And living together requires a generosity of another kind. It requires a generosity of grace and forgiveness that begins with the overflowing grace and forgiveness of God. That's where we are headed in this episode.

Send me a Text Message!In this episode we are going to tell the generosity story of Mary. In the last few days of his life, she gave Jesus a gift that touched his heart. She had a love-burst. She had a moment of tender affection that gripped and expanded her heart so much that it seemed like it might burst. And she had a moment, an act of generosity that has not been forgotten for thousands of years.I don't know about you, but I want to be remembered as a generous person...a person who gave with his heart...not just his head...a person who was crazyin love with Jesus and willingly gave into his love-bursts. Have you ever had a love-burst? 

Send me a Text Message!In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a story. It's a story about helping or ignoring Jesus in need. Now at first glance I'm a little unnerved by this story. I don't like the idea of ignoring Jesus in need.  I'm pretty sure that if I saw Jesus, (and I knew it was him) I would help. I would help Jesus-in-need. Don't want to miss him. But what if the point of the story is less about who I've missed and more about my heart? The point of this generosity story isn't to lay out a set of rules and regulations, the point is my heart.  Do I have a generous heart? Am I motivated to get in the generosity game?And if you think about it, Jesus makes it pretty easy to get in the game. These are not unattainable goals. This is not super bowl giving; a cup of water for someone who is thirsty, a meal for someone who is hungry. This is simply baseline behavior for someone on the Jesus journey. Take a step. Do it for Jesus!

Send me a Text Message!Why do we long to be rich? And is there a better way? Those are the questions I'm tackling in this episode, still looking at Paul's words to his young friend, Timothy. But in the end, rather than going after more stuff, we need to trust a better Savior. We need to live entrusted rather than entitled and we have to grab life through generosity.Then we start stepping into the overflow!

Send me a Text Message!We have entered a week of 24/7 prayer at Calvary. Actually if you want to join us, you can sign up at www.calvarycwow.org/resources -- just look for the "Sign Up Here" button. If you sign up I'll send you a prayer guide!But we start the one-hour prayer guide with gratitude. I wrote this, "We begin where revival always begins — not with our striving, but with his goodness. Gratitude is humble preparation for a reviving work of God. In hard times, gratitude turns our eyes back to the God who has already been at work all around us. Before we ask God for a move of God in Central PA, let's thank him for every move of God we have already seen."Psalm 67 is a great Psalm to focus our gratitude. It uses the word "bless" a lot! It's a good thing to be reminded that in so many ways, we have been blessed beyond belief.  So this episode will continue our Psalms series with a pause on gratitude. Next episode we will step back into generosity!

Send me a Text Message!In this episode, I just want to share with you a great story of generosity that might begin to shape our understanding and even future experience of "the good life." 1 I Timothy 6 contains some good, hard words that have helped me dig into the reality of God's good life. I hope they will do the same for you!

Send me a Text Message!It may seem a little bit weird, but I get a little bit emotional on this episode. I think in part it goes back to the idea that generosity is not about what God needs/wants from us, but about what He wants to give to us.  And there are some stories of that kind of shaping that just grab my heart.  In 2 Corinthians 9, you will hear Paul say this, "God loves a cheerful giver..." I think God loves cheerful givers so much that He's passionately creating them, if we'll let him.So my prayer for you, for me, for us is simply this, "God would you make us what you love."

Send me a Text Message!You've heard me say it more than once during this series, and you will probably hear me say it a few more times  before we are done. "God has an unlimited capacity to give, but we have a limited capacity to receive." So if we want to live in his overflow we have to learn to let go, open up and give away what He gives us. We need to make space for His generosity, for His overflow. And from those days all the way back in Zarephath, don't you suppose He's been trying to show us theway? The widow of Zarephath became an extraordinary giver. Now what is extraordinary generosity? I'd define it simply as something beyond your ordinary. It's different for each of us, your ordinary is not my ordinary. It's simply the call to take a step beyond your ordinary. And I have to be honest, I want to be an extraordinary giver. How about you?

Send me a Text Message!You may not be aware of this, but in the Old Testament, the one true name of God (sometimes pronounced Jehovah and spelled YHWH), the one true name of God was too holy for people to speak out loud.  But even though they would not say the one true name of God, they did call him by other names. They usually gave God a name when they had an intense, very real encounter with God.  Or they would give him a name that described how He was at work in their lives.  For example, The All-Sufficient God, The God Who Heals, God Almighty, and The God Who Provides were some favorite names of God. I grew up on a farm in South Dakota, one of our favorite names for God was Lord of the Harvest. What is your name for God? Listen in as I share how that matters when it comes to generosity. 

Send me a Text Message!One way evangelicals, love to describe our faith is that we say "We have a "personal relationship with God. Do you have a personal relationship with God?"Those four words slip off our tongues with ease; personal relationship with God.  It's not about religion, we proclaim, it's about relationship, a personal relationship with God.  Becoming a Christian is all about having a personal relationship with God. To be honest I like the description.  We were made for community and we were made for God. Both of those come together in an amazing way in a "personal relationship with God."But have you ever stopped to consider how odd that phrase, that invitation  sounds to someone outside of faith?  So what do we mean when we talk about a personal relationship with God?  Well there are different levels of relationship right? But when we talk about a personal relationship with God, it's a relationship that is more and brings more than we can imagine. That's what Psalm 139 is all about!

Send me a Text Message!Generosity is not about what God wants from us, it's about what God wants for us. He wants to pour out uncontainable blessings upon us. And there is no greater blessing than His presence. When the presence of God is inescapable, the blessings of God are unrelenting. And it all starts by giving Him my heart!

Send me a Text Message!Just take a moment and imagine walking with Jesus out to the middle of nowhere, wherever you live. For me it's central PA, maybe climbing Mt. Nittany, walking to the middle of your town, or campus, or workplace and He begins to paint a picture. He begins to dream a dream with you of what could be, or maybe even of what will be. And then He says, I want you to join me. It's gonna cost you, but it'll be worth it. Will you join me? There is a dream on the heart of God to open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that it can't be contained in our lives. Malachi 3 is like God's painting this vision of what could be, walking beside us whispering, "Just imagine the dream on your heart coming true. I want you to join me." What would you do? Better yet, He is inviting you, so what will you do?

Send me a Text Message!Here's where it starts. Overflowing life starts with Jesus offer to anyone. He said, "Anyone who is thirsty can come." That's Jesus' offer, anyone. And don't miss who  is hearing his words. In John 7 the crowd is filled with doubters and deniers, rule following religious leaders who want to kill him. It's filled with the confused and uncertain, the oppressed and discouraged, the fearfully hopeful, and even  unbelieving family members. And he says anyone, let anyone who is thirsty come.Anyone. Is there anyone who is left out of anyone?Anyone listening then or now. Anyone who is thirsty for something more. And willing to come to Christ. We come to Christ for Christ. He doesn't have what we need to satisfy our thirst.  He is who we need to satisfy our thirst. And when we believe in Him, we become life-giving stations for thirsty souls.

Send me a Text Message!So we are doing a macro series on four spiritual practices that put us in a life that is characterized by God's gracious hand being upon us. We've looked at the spiritual practice of scripture, the practice of sabbath keeping and this mini-series is on generosity. I'm calling it Overflow. Because in the Kingdom of God, that's really what generosity is all about. Of course it involves sacrifice, but at it's heart it's about letting the love and life of Jesus overflow into the lives of those around us. In this episode and the next few, we will set the stage with some descriptions of the overflowing life. And it starts in John 7 with a moment in the life of Jesus where he promised that our lives can become so full that we can't help but be generous with the life inside of us. It's what we call "living in the overflow!"

Send me a Text Message!Psalm 121 is one of the first of a small group (14) of psalms called the "Psalms of Ascent." They were songs for pilgrims on a journey to the holy place, the presence of God. It's a re-do. I first recorded it about 3 years ago during my top 40 Psalms series. But it's a great Psalm to bridge our series on practicing the sabbath and our upcoming series on generosity.Psalm 121 begins with a question and an answer that should direct and motivate both practices.  The question is "Where does my help come from?" And the answer is, "My help comes from the Lord." Who can I trust for help? My help comes from the Lord. Where do I go when I need help? My help comes from the Lord. In this episode we will hang out for a bit with this question and answer.  Where does my help come from? The Lord. My help comes from the Lord!

Send me a Text Message!One more moment to press pause and think about this one day a week that is meant to be a taste of heaven on earth. And I'm going to go at it in a little bit different way. I want to share a story of a moment in the life of Jesus. It doesn't mention the sabbath at all, but it really reinforces why the sabbath is important. The story is of a man we only know as "the rich young ruler." It's a story of the one thing we may lack, that is required for a life that truly thrives.

Send me a Text Message!The good life does not start with activity. It starts with rest. We don't rest from our work, we rest into our work. The order is significant. We've turned the concept of the Sabbath into a day off, a much needed rest from our busyness, but the Sabbath was not meant to be a passive resting; it was always an active turning from work to God. Basically, God has said, "Once a week I'm going to carve out a day for you. I'm going to remove it from the curse; call it holy so that Satan can't mess with it and I'm going to fill it with blessings. Primarily the blessing of me. And I'm good, so good; you won't regret this day. It'll be like the old days, back in the garden, aday to remind you that I actually want to spend time with you."See Sabbath is one day a week to taste-test heaven!

Send me a Text Message!We are strivers. Rather than finding our identity in who we are, we find it in what  we do. At one time work was just a way that we got our family ahead, but now it's the way in which we find our value, determine our worth. We're a society that determines value by achievement. This is even shaping the way we parent. Our kids have to go to the best schools, be trained by the best people and be involvedin all the best activities so they can become the best achievers. Because what really matters is what we do, not who we are. And yet all of our doing does not seem to fill the holes in our souls. In spite of all our doing...something is lacking in our being. Even when I win this rat race, I wake up in the morning to find that I'mstill a rat. But the writer of Hebrews says, there is still hope. But somehow we have to stop striving, so we can gain the gift!

Send me a Text Message!Over the course of these episodes and even more the course of the years, I have had multiple people ask me, so what should I do on the Sabbath? How is it  different from any other day? What's the purpose? At some point the thought came to me, "The Sabbath was meant to be a little taste of heaven. The Sabbath is one day a week meant to give us a little taste of heaven on earth.  I'll be honest, the first time those words came out of my mouth, I thought "Oh... that's good. Way to go Dan. I've never read that, never heard anyone say that. Good job." Of course, I wasn't even close to the first with that thought. I found that the Jewish midrash written  over 1000 yrs ago, contained the same idea. So what would it look like to bring an element of heaven into your Sabbath? What if that was God's intent all along...a taste test of heaven?

Send me a Text Message!What if I only had one day, one day to live, one day to give, or just one day to do whatever my heart desired to do? What would you do with one day to do whatever you wanted to do?The average lifespan in the United States is 29,200 days (give or take). My mother-in-law recently celebrated her 32,872nd day. My mom and dad are both over 30,000 days old. In a few weeks, I will celebrate my 23,376th day! In Psalm 84, David says that one day in God's presence is worth a 1000 anywhere else. One day in God's presence is better than 1000 of my best days anywhere else. Which causes me to pause and ask, "Would I give my life for 23+ days in God's presence? Or let me make it more immediate and practical. Would I give God an hour of my day today, if I thought it was that good?Psalm 84 is an encouraging and convicting Psalm that causes me to ask the question, "What would I do if I only had one day?"

Send me a Text Message!What would you think if I told you that I believe "play" is in the very heart of Father God. I love how the prophet Isaiah describes this play-full God in Isaiah 29:13-14:"The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder." Did you catch that? God is bummed because people's hearts are all bricked up and their worship is filled with dry rules.  There's no joy, no fun. So what does God decide to do? "Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder..."I'm gonna blow their minds, knock their socks off, I'm gonna bring a smile to their faces, if it's the last thing I do. Let me ask you... when is the last time you let God astound you?

Send me a Text Message!We are going to talk about the spiritual practice of play. U knew this was coming, but still you're tempted to ask, "Did he say play or pray?" Play? Why would we talk about play on the sabbath? Play is not really a spiritual practice is it? Good question! That a Christian should be a great worker, a blessing to every boss is easily defensible. That a follower of Jesus should be willing to sacrifice, even suffer for their faith. I've said that, more than once. That a Christian should be known for their love. Of course...almost goes without saying. How about no one in the world should be known for their playfulness like followers of Christ? How does that sit with you? In this episode I'll start to make the case that the Kingdom of God is for kids who love to play and there's no better time to play, than on God's stop-day!

Send me a Text Message!God made "stop-day" (the sabbath) a rule, because  He loves delight. He loves to delight us. I think I could even say, He loves to have fun.  Sabbath is God saying, hey what I have made for you is so cool, I'm gonna insist that you enjoy it."  Remember how we described sabbath in the last episode?  Basically God has said, "Once a week I will carve out a day for you. I'm going to remove it from the curse; call it holy so that Satan can't mess with it and I'm going to fill it with blessings. Primarily the blessing of me. And I am so good, you don't want to miss this day. It'll be like the old days, back in the garden."So practically speaking how do we do it? How do I have a "be-with-God" day?

Send me a Text Message!When it comes to keeping the sabbath, basically God has said, "Once a week I'm gonna to carve out a day for you. I'm gonna remove it from the curse; call it holy so that Satan can't mess with it and I'm going to fill it with blessings. Primarily the blessing of me. And I'm good. I'm so good. You won't regret this day. It'll be like the old days, back in the garden. It's gonna be a day where I can remind you that I love you and I actually want to spend time with you. You are my delight."What if that was what the Sabbath was all about? And if that's what it's all about…would you really want to miss it? Wouldn't it be your best day of the week?

Send me a Text Message!Far too often, I come to God to get something from God. But what the gifts of the giver, keep me from embracing the greatest gift? See there is nothing greater than Christ. Christ is the treasure of Christianity. Listen, I don't know why you go to church, why you listen to this podcast, but if it's not ultimately because you want more of Christ, then chances are good that you're going to miss everything. Listen to me, there is a hunger and a thirst deep inside of you that nothing will touch, nothing will satisfy, except Christ...So here's the question I end with in this episode, "Are you willing to stop feeding at banquet tables where the main course is not Christ.  If it's necessary will you let go of the good to go after God? Are you thirsty for the gift of God?"  

Send me a Text Message!The sabbath is a way of saying, "God it's not just a matter of time, if I had all the  time in the world, I still wouldn't be able to finish. I need help. I'm limited." I think one reason we don't sabbath well is because we haven't accepted our limitations. We need to develop a theology of limitations.The sabbath call in Psalm 46 is "Be still and know that I am God." Usually when we think of the word stillness, we think of quiet. Stillness is a lack of noise and sometimes we desperately need times of solitude and silence. But God is notsaying, "Be quiet and know that I am God."  The Hebrew word means stop or simply cease. Cease striving. Hands up. Give up. Let Him be God!

Send me a Text Message!We are starting the second mini-series of spiritual practices that bring God's gracious hand upon us. For the next 8-10 episodes we're going talk about keeping the Sabbath. The Sabbath is God's stop-day. And let's be honest, it's so hard. And if you ask why is it so hard to slow down? Isn't the most common answer, well 24/7 living and 24/7 work is what it takes to get ahead. I mean there is so much todo. It's like, "God, if you want to take a day off, that's your business, but you can see that I just don't have time to stop."But here's my question, the sabbath question. What if getting ahead is the wrong race?  What if getting ahead is really falling behind and we have to stop in order to catch up with the life that really matters? What if getting ahead is the wrong race?

Send me a Text Message!Remain. Mostly what I want to talk about, in this last episode of the series, is that word "remain." In Biblical Greek, it's the word meno.  It means to take a stand against difficult circumstances. But it was also used to refer to relationships, close personal relationships.  So maybe the sense of the word meno in John 15 is "to stick close even when it's difficult."Stick close to me and I will stick close to you. Regardless of how hard life is, let my words stick close. Stick close to my love. If you stick close, you will live a life that thrives, so stick close. See, if want to breakthrough to a life that thrives, we need to remain!